World’s oldest border

The fifth point on my top 10 list of evidence for calling Korean history peaceful and stable is the nature of the border with China. The Amnok River (perhaps better known by the Chinese term, Yalu River) has been the border with China for over 1,000 years.

I am indebted to Prof. David Kang at USC for this insight. He, as I, have been advocating for an interpretation of Korean culture that emphasizes the peaceful aspects of Korean history. In one of Kang’s YouTube videos he presented the idea that the Amnok River is one of the oldest, unchanged borders in world history.

Now, this statement requires a little qualification. The lower reaches of the Amnok became the border between the Korean state of Goryeo (918-1392) and the states of Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) of China. We can’t really claim that the border was recognized from the beginning of the Goryeo period, because things were somewhat unsettled. The Silla northern border was not as far north as the Amnok River, rather, it was in the Pyongyang area. But Goryeo was built of a combination of Silla, with elements of the northern state of Balhae (Parhae), which was a remnant of the old state of Goguryeo.

At its outset, Goryeo was called “Hugoguryeo,” or the “Later Goguryeo” kingdom. With growing Chinese influence, the “Altaic” polysyllabic nature of language was considered less-cultured than mono-syllabic and duo-syllabic terms, typical of Chinese proper nouns. So, it is said, they dropped the “hu” and they dropped the “gu” and Goryeo was what was left.

More importantly, for our purpose today, the northern reach of Goryeo gave them access to the Amnok River. The border did not follow the Amnok all the way to the northeast to its source in Baekdusan, the famous mountain that is the headwaters the Amnok and Tuman rivers. The mountain is also, in a spiritual sense, the headwaters of Korean civilization. Several birth myths, including that of North Korea’s Kim Jong-il, as well as ancient figures claim to have been born on Mount Paektu.

The border between China and North Korea is somewhat in contention, with the Chinese claiming more of the border than the Koreans agree to. And the Chinese have their own name for the mountain — Jangbaishan (“long white mountain”). The Korean Paektusan is “white head mountain.”

The lower stretch of the Amnok River, at least, has been the border since some point in the mid-10th century. By the end of the Goryeo period, by the late 14th century, the border became the full length of the river.

Also at that point, the northeastern border became the Tuman River, making it also one of the oldest borders in the world. With over 600 years as a border, it, too, is on the list of oldest borders.

I’m not an expert in world history and I haven’t done research on other borders, so I admit my knowledge is all “secondary.” But in looking at other long-held borders the other end of China, it has one — the border between China and Vietnam. That border, the Red River, has been in place since the 11th century.

European borders have moved frequently, many within the last century. The border between Portugal and Spain has been in place since the 13th century. Look at the really entertaining websites that show how Europe has changed year-by-year.

I’m not prepared to rank the ages of all the borders of the world. Someone else can do that. But I am prepared to say that because of the exceptional antiquity of the Amnok River as a border, certainly one of the oldest, if not the oldest, we have another piece of evidence of Korea having a stable and peaceful history.

Yes, there were conflicts across the border. The Mongols came across in the 13th century. The Manchus came across in the 17th century. There were skirmishes (I use that word advisedly to imply that the fighting was relatively minor) between the Goryeo court and the Jurchens and the Khitans. But basically the border held, meaning the lower stretch of the Amnok, but the upper stretches were unsettled. They were really what Prof. Kang likes to distinguish as a “frontier” rather than a “border.”

He makes an interesting argument about the differences between an ambiguous “frontier” and an established political entity that separates states, a border.

The point of this writing is to show that Korean history has been remarkably peaceful, contrary to popular views of Korea as a wartorn land. This is another brick in the wall, another piece of evidence in my “Top Ten Evidences of Peaceful Stable Korea.” This is No. 5. More to follow.